A hospital which is set to close has been named the second cleanest in the country.

Royal Hospital Haslar beat hundreds of other hospitals in the prestigious Golden Service Awards.

But it is due to shut in 2009, forcing patients to use Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, which has struggled with MRSA infections. Campaigners say health bosses should now reconsider the future of Haslar hospital...

Been in the military ward at Sellyoak a few times and i have to say that it cleaner than any other ward i have ever been in. I think the patients have to do the cleaning which also helps in their rehab.

......The only trouble is that it is the back of beyond traffic wise......

Click to expand...

Not so bad getting in to Gosport but a bugger getting out morning or late afternoon. Console yourself that you'll be able to drive there, park your car free of charge, be watched in and out by a security gate patrolman and be treated in a clean, pleasant environment.

As to MRSA, an awful lot of people carry this bug around on their skin and in their mouth/nose, so there's no guarantee you won't have a problem, but it is much less likely if you take simple precautions, like being clean yourself and insisting that any staff members who need to touch you have either just washed their hands or used the alcohol gels available.

Most of the infection problems in hospital are there to stay, but Joe Public has to realise that he's part of the cross-infection problem and so needs to be clean as well!

.....but Joe Public has to realise that he's part of the cross-infection problem and so needs to be clean as well!

Click to expand...

Indeed.

I was treated for an ortho condition, knee reconstruction, in Haslar a couple of years ago and have nothing but praise for the majority of staff in the place. Unfortunately it doesn't seem well designed for modern medicine.

What I did find quite offputting was the number of people in waiting rooms etc who didn't meet the personal standards I've come to expect in the service on a day to day basis, never mind in a hospital where exposure in both directions has to be higher. Simple things like hand-washing in the heads and the like.

A bit of an eye opener and I realised then just how insulated we can be in the service at times.

.....but Joe Public has to realise that he's part of the cross-infection problem and so needs to be clean as well!

Click to expand...

What I did find quite offputting was the number of people in waiting rooms etc who didn't meet the personal standards I've come to expect in the service on a day to day basis, never mind in a hospital where exposure in both directions has to be higher. Simple things like hand-washing in the heads and the like.

A bit of an eye opener and I realised then just how insulated we can be in the service at times.

Click to expand...

There was a TV documentary on a few years ago where they took a bowl of peanuts off a bar and tested it. There were 9 different urine samples isolated! So yes I agree that the personal hygine of the great unwashed does leave a lot to be desired but not just in hospitals.

MRSA or Methacillin Resistant Staph Aureous really means a Staph Aureous bug - which everyone carries in their nose, on their skin etc has become resistent to Penicillin - partly caused by over prescription and partly by the publics desire for instant cures e.g. the expectation of the public is that they go to the GP with a cold etc (which is a virus and isn't susceptable to antibiotics) and the GP gives them anti b's just in case it becomes a chest infection etc - not because they need them. Compounded by the fact that some people take antibiotics until they feel better and not finish the course which only goes to give the bug a resistance to that particular type of antibiotic. The problem is with Staph A is while it is on the skin it's no problem - it's when it gets into a wound it becomes difficult to get rid of and of course while it is present the wound wont heal properly.

The other bug that is on the increase at the moment is C Diff or Clostridium Difficile .. this is a normal gut bug and passed on by not washing hands! Again - in the gut it's normal except when it increases for what ever reason when the body then tries to get rid of the excess with a dose of the squits! .. The problem with C Diff is when it's attacked by Anti Biotics it produces spores which are immune to normal disinfectants and they can last up to two years in open air or dirt. So when the Anti B's have killed the C Diff it then hatches the spores and away you go again. This means that the body is constantly trying to get rid of the excess C diff by giving you the squits which leads onto dehydration and death!

So if anyones going into hospital get anyone coming near you to wash their hads properly before touching you!

.....but Joe Public has to realise that he's part of the cross-infection problem and so needs to be clean as well!

Click to expand...

What I did find quite offputting was the number of people in waiting rooms etc who didn't meet the personal standards I've come to expect in the service on a day to day basis, never mind in a hospital where exposure in both directions has to be higher. Simple things like hand-washing in the heads and the like.

A bit of an eye opener and I realised then just how insulated we can be in the service at times.

Click to expand...

There was a TV documentary on a few years ago where they took a bowl of peanuts off a bar and tested it. There were 9 different urine samples isolated! So yes I agree that the personal hygine of the great unwashed does leave a lot to be desired but not just in hospitals.

MRSA or Methacillin Resistant Staph Aureous really means a Staph Aureous bug - which everyone carries in their nose, on their skin etc has become resistent to Penicillin - partly caused by over prescription and partly by the publics desire for instant cures e.g. the expectation of the public is that they go to the GP with a cold etc (which is a virus and isn't susceptable to antibiotics) and the GP gives them anti b's just in case it becomes a chest infection etc - not because they need them. Compounded by the fact that some people take antibiotics until they feel better and not finish the course which only goes to give the bug a resistance to that particular type of antibiotic. The problem is with Staph A is while it is on the skin it's no problem - it's when it gets into a wound it becomes difficult to get rid of and of course while it is present the wound wont heal properly.

The other bug that is on the increase at the moment is C Diff or Clostridium Difficile .. this is a normal gut bug and passed on by not washing hands! Again - in the gut it's normal except when it increases for what ever reason when the body then tries to get rid of the excess with a dose of the squits! .. The problem with C Diff is when it's attacked by Anti Biotics it produces spores which are immune to normal disinfectants and they can last up to two years in open air or dirt. So when the Anti B's have killed the C Diff it then hatches the spores and away you go again. This means that the body is constantly trying to get rid of the excess C diff by giving you the squits which leads onto dehydration and death!

/quote]So if anyones going into hospital get anyone coming near you to wash their hads properly before touching you![

The more stories that come out like this the more weight it gives towards keeping Haslar, perhaps as a NHS run site with a small military rehab section. There is no hope of RHH going back to the old days of a fully-blown military hopsital.

I really do hope the local PCT actually take their heads out of their arses and do the right thing here.